Superior, AZ

4/18/2007
We moved from Phoenix Metro RV Park to Glendale and Ron Wickland's lot (D&R's Family RV), waiting until Thursday to have our solar monitor repaired. Ron has something like a car port to park under for them to work on out of the sun and rain. He backed our motor home under it just enough to let our satellite stick out so I could raise it and have my Internet and TV for the night. He also has a 30 amp connection that we could use. So we were able to spend the night there very comfortably. He also brought in an other customer with a bus conversion that needed some work. Naturally at night his gates are locked but he gave us a key, so we were able to go to the Arrowhead Mall on Bell Street, about five miles up the road.
4/19/2007
Ron and his son started work on it the first thing in the morning and were through by 9:30. We left our catalytic heat with him to fix and will pick it up when we go back to Phoenix, May 10th for our appointment with Earnhardt for some hopefully minor repairs. Since we were through so early we headed out for Superior, AZ were we will visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Saturday, which is Arbor day. They are having some special entertainment to celebrate Arbor day. The Arboretum is a world class, 320-acre collection of plants cooperatively managed by a nonprofit Corporation, the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Arizona State Parks. We hope to get some good pictures of Cactus in bloom. We are camped at Superior RV Park about one mile from Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It's a small campground right on route 60 so there is plenty of traffic noise. Seem we can't get away from either traffic noise or train whistles. At least it is open so my satellite works.

After we set up at the campground we took a drive further east on route 60 and got these pictures at a pull off just through the tunnel. As you can see it's very rugged country but pretty, at least to me.

It is considered a scenic highway and I agree at least as far as we went. This part of the road was in a canyon with so many rocks all around that looked like they were ready to fall any minute.

If you look close you can see the whole way through the tunnel. We just drove to the top of the mountain. The sign said 7% grade for the next 10 miles. When we turned around to go back down the sign said 7% grade for the next 5 miles. That was what we had just come up. The town of Superior is very old and small. We stop at a Mexican Restaurant for lunch. The only other place in town we saw to eat was a Dairy Queen. I was going to give our plans for tomorrow but we really don't have any plans for tomorrow yet. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Retirement is great.

Phoenix 4/16/2007

We finally made it to warmer weather. The temperatures here in Phoenix for the next couple of days will be in the upper eighties. We are at the Phoenix Metro RV Park. It's in the northern part of Phoenix just off route 17. The area is growing by leaps and bounds. They have construction every where. It makes it hard to get around with all the road construction and the traffic is typical of any large city, heavy and congested. We are going to Glendale Wednesday to get the solar monitor fixed (Link 1000).

Mt. Taylor

Yesterday (4/11/2007) we decides to go to Gallup. It's just 50 or 60 miles from Milan on route 40. The morning drive was great. The Red Rock Mesas are outstanding. The are a deep rusty red and beautiful, at that time of day the sun was shining on them just right. On the way we tried to find Red Rock State Park but the signs to it are bad and we never did find it. The first stop in Gallup was at Walgreens to get one of my many prescriptions filled. We left it with plans to pick it up on the way back. Next we went to the main post office on 2nd street to get our mail which we had forwarded to it. I had looked up the address on line. However, when we got there we found out it was only a central point for deliveries of mail. Fortunately a lady who was putting some mail in the mail box outside directed us the the correct post office on Aztec Street. After picking up our mail we went to the Wal-mart. Peggy always has to check out every Wal-mart fabric department. She buys more fabric than I buy books. While at the Wal-mart I got a call from Walgreens telling me they didn't have enough pills to fill my prescription but that she had called around town and found some place that did, did I want her to transfer the prescription there. Naturally I ask where? She said "Wal-mart. " I said since that was where I was that would be nice, so I got my prescription filled at Wal-mart. We ate lunch at Cracker Barrel which was just across the street from Wal-mart and then headed back home.
Thursday 4/12/2007
Today since the weather here has been so bad, windy and cold, we decided to go back to the visitor center and view some of the 35 videos they had to view. When we got there at 10 o'clock and ask about viewing some of the videos, they told us that a meeting was being held in the theater and would not be available until 12 o'clock. So we took a drive up to Mt Taylor. What an experience. The man at the visitor center had told me that we could only go so far because part way up the mountain you needed a high clearance vehicle. Well believe me the Saturn is no high clearance vehicle, so I thought I would have to turn around some where on the way up. Well we kept going up and up. About half way up the road turned to a gravel road but a well maintained road, so I kept going. About 10 miles up, not in altitude but in distance, we saw a sign that said to Mt Taylor look out, so we took it. Well we kept going up and the road started to get slick and muddy, the surrounding forest had snow patches all through it. We finally came to a rest area and I pulled off to look at the map we had. The road continued on up and was getting more muddy and narrower, so I decided to turn around. We went back down to the turn off that we had taken and continued on it. The road got narrower and there was more and more snow. The trees still had some snow on them from the snow the night before. The map indicated that if we continued on we would finally get to a road that would take us back to Milan. We kept going and it started to snow. Just ahead two Elk ran across the road, so I stopped while Peggy got the camera to try and get a picture of them, then there were two more and two more and three more. We thought that was all, so I started to drive on, Peggy yelled there's two more. I coasted further down the road and sure enough two more ran across the road. Guess what? Peggy never got a picture of one of them. :-) We drove on and I was getting more nervous, the road was actually getting snow on it and slippery, I sure didn't want to get struck up in these mountains. Finally we came to a dead end intersection. No sign, which way right or left? Peg said left. The road left was wider and better maintained so we went left. After what to me seemed like forever we started down the mountain and we could see the valley below and knew we were on the right road. When we got to the valley it started to sleet in sheets, but the sign said to Milan 15 miles and the road was a black top, "hurray." We finally got home, had lunch and I spent the rest of the evening watching the Braves get beat, but it was a good game. You really don't need a high clearance vehicle but a four wheel drive would be nice.

El Malpais 4/10/2007

I have finally found out why my pictures could not be clicked on and expanded. When I upload them as long as I don't move them they can be expanded. So all of the ones in today's entry can be clicked on and expanded. Now I need to get them so that when they expand they aren't bigger than the screen. I'll work on that in my next entry. I'm going to get this right one of these days. At least now if you expand them you can scroll them to see all of the picture in a better size, unfortunately not all at once. The scenery pictures are so much better blown up to full screen.
I haven't added any thing to the blog in a couple of days because we haven't gone any where. The weather has been so bad. We are having rain and very strong winds. Yesterday was so windy we didn't even stick our noses out the door (4/09/2007). Peggy got her sewing machine out and made her self a pair of pajamas. I tried to get caught up on some of my reading and the baseball season has started so when TBS carries the Braves games I get to watch them.
Since later this week they are predicting higher winds and freezing at night we decided to stay here for another 5 days. "Ain't retirement grant, no schedule". :-)
Tuesday was cold and very windy but we decided to brave it and go to El Malpais pronounced el-mal-pie-EES. It means "the badlands". The west boundary of El Malpais is about 20 miles south of Grants on route 53. We stopped at the visitor center for information and a brochure on the National Monument. Our first stop was the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. It is privately owned since it was owned before the area was made into a National Monument. We took the trail to the Ice Cave first. The picture below is an example of the surrounding terrain. It is very rough volcanic lava.
This picture is a close up of the lava showing how porous it looks. Since it is close up the field of dept is limited so the left side of the picture is not in focus but the right side is.

The entrance to the Ice Cave is down about 65 steps into a collapsed lava tube.

The temperature never gets above 31 degrees down here even in the heat of the summer. The ice has the green algae color from the algae being washed down in to the ice from above and them freezing.

After the Ice Cave we could have gone to the volcano but it was a half mile up a trail that rose a 150 feet to the top of the Volcano. The wind was blowing so hard and I didn't think I could make it up the hill so we skipped it. One of the many problems with getting old, I know it beats the alternative. :-) The ticket man gave us a pass to come back on a better day to go to the top of the volcano. On the way back we stopped at what the park calls the Calderon Area. There are a couple of collapsed lava tubes here and some trails to other interesting sites. The collapsed tubes were close enough that I could get to them. Below is a picture of one of them. There are about seventeen miles of tubes in the area and apparently some cavers do explore them.

From there we went back to route 40 and went east to exit 89 and took route 117 south to the east side of El Malpais. The first stop was a BLM ranger station. Adjacent to the National Monument is a National Conservation Area. The National Monument is administered by the National Park Service but the National Conservation Area is administered by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). They also have a nice ranger station with views over the lava field and tapes you can view about the area. The first stop after the ranger station was at the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook area. The wind was blowing so hard we were afraid to get near the edge of the bluff for fear of getting blown over the cliff. The picture below is a view from the bluffs. The grey area in the middle is part of the lava flow. This is about twenty miles south of route 40 and the lave extends all the way to route 40. There were three volcanoes in the area that contributed to these lava areas.

From there we headed south another 10 miles to the La Ventana Natural Arch. The picture below is from the path into the arch. Note the white sand stone near the top of the mesa. Peggy is in th bottom left of the picture. It might give you some idea of how cold that wind was.

The arch is the largest in New Mexico. I'm looking forward to seeing the ones in Utah. From there we drove further south on route 117 through what they called the narrows. It is an area where the lava flow gets very close to the mesa so there was not much room for then to build a road. We stopped at the Lava Falls area but again unfortunately it was too far a walk to get to on such a cold and windy day. From there we headed back to the motor home, but first we had to stop at Wal-mart for a few supplies. Tomorrow we plan to go to Gallup to see about getting a hair cut picking up our mail, which we had sent there, and seeing if we can find a mall for Peggy to walk in. She has that restless leg syndrome and has to walk every day or she can't sleep at night.

Mine Museum

We had planned to go to the Ice Cave today but the weather was so cold and windy that we decided to go to an indoor exhibit. The Mine Museum is a simulated Uranium Mine here in Grants. When Uranium was discovered in the area around Grants it produced a boom for the town. The population went from 1200 to 20,000. Grants became the largest producer of Uranium Ore in the country, producing about 63 percent of all Uranium ore mined.
The mine simulation was very interesting and well done since of course you wouldn't be able to tour the real mine because of radiation. From the first floor museum, where there were exhibits that explained the history of Grants and the mining industry, you took an elevator down to the mine. You walk through the simulated tunnels with regular stops that tell you about the machinery you are looking at, there is a button at each stop to push where one of the men that worked in the mine further explains what you are looking at and how it is used. The tunnels you are walking through are well designed to make you feel like you are in a real mine. For further information on Uranium mining in Grants and a short history of Grants go to the link below. One of the interesting tid-bits you will learn is that at one time Grants was the carrot capital of the US.
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/HC-Grants.html
The first two pictures will expand if you click on them, I don't know why the third one won't.

This sign explains the picture of the drill bit below.

Drill bit used to sink shafts at the Uranium Mine.

This is the engine they used to pull the ore cars. It was battery operated. The driver in this case isn't. :-)

El Morro

Today we visited El Morro. It is located about 42 miles south of Grants on Highway 53. El Morro means "headland" or "bluff". The first historical record of El Morro was in 1583 when the Espejo Spanish expedition stopped here for water. From then on many of the expeditions passing here stopped for water and inscribed their names and dates on the sandstone.

The remains of the buildings on top are called the A'ts'ina village. The place was occupied during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Why it was abandoned is unknown.

The water hole that drew the traveler to this place. It is usually about 12 feet deep.

View of El Morro from the entrance road.

One of the many writings on the walls of El Morro. Translated it reads "On the 25th of the month of June, of this year of 1709, passed by here on the way to Zuni - Ramon Garcia Jurado"

In 1728 he was the "alcalde mayor" of the Keres district, not far south of Santa Fe.

Seep hole in the rock. Rain water running down cracks in the rock come out small holes in the side of the mesa. The water seeping out of the opening gradually wears away the rock.

View of a distant mesa which is composed of the same rock as El Morro. The brighter colors are caused by thin films of iron oxide around the sand grains, which are not present at El Morro. The lack of water around it kept the early travelers from stopping there.
For further information go to this link. http://www.nps.gov/elmo/

Sky City

Yesterday we moved from Albuquerque to Milan N. M. and are camping at the Bar-S RV Park. One thing you can say about New Mexico is they seem to have great train service. The campground is near a railroad and all night long you can hear the train whistles. Milan adjoins Grants both of which are between old route 66 and 40. We drove route 66 back to Grants looking for a Post Office which we eventually found. Grants also has a Wal-Mart. So naturally we had to stop there and get a few groceries.
Today we went to Sky City which is in the Acoma Pueblo. I am told Pueblo is Spanish for town. Along the way we stopped at the New Mexico visitors center. What a great new building with a view of the surrounding lava fields. We viewed a film about all the things to see in this area and they have 35 other ones to view. If we go back that way tomorrow we will stop again and view some of the other films. They have a good book shop with many books about this area, New Mexico and the Indians of this area. The people there are very eager to help with information and maps.
Sky City is about 20 miles east on route 40. It also has a nice new visitor center. We took the tour of Sky City. They drove us up on a bus to the top of the Mesa, thank goodness. :-) The tour was great. The young man was very knowledgeable about the Acoma history and culture. He quoted the statement that "Winners write history" to refute some of the things in the history books. One of the points he wanted to make was that this place was not chosen for defence but for spiritual reasons. According to him originally the sand was so high around this area that it was only about a 12 foot drop to the surrounding sand. At the end of the tour you could either take the bus back down or walk the narrow trail. The tour was about 2 hours, so by that time Peg and I were ready to sit down, so we opted to take the bus back down. The weather has been great in the lower seventies. The nights get a little cool, in the low thirties and in the afternoon sometimes the wind kicks up a good bit.
The pictures do not do the area justice. It is much more beautiful than they can show.
Please go to my picture link to see the 23 pictures I took and remember it is much prettier than they show. By the way I had to pay $10.00 to be allowed to take pictures and we were not allowed to take a picture of the church's outside or inside. Here is the Sky City web link for more information on Sky City.
http://www.newmexico.org/place/loc/cities/page/DB-place/place/159.html
I have been trying to get my pictures to expand when you click on them. I don't know why they won't, but for some reason the first two of these pictures will expand if you click on them but the third one won't.
View of the visitor center from Sky City.

One of the streets in Sky City.

View from an overlook, looking back at Sky City. Sky City is on the Mesa in the middle of the picture.